# Sharia Takeovers and Middle East Chaos | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #8

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Pause and Reflect
**Published:** 2026-03-06
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/MK_XdPjs8do
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/ramadan-pause-and-reflect-8-sharia-takeovers-and-middle-east-chaos
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Summary
In this Ramadan reflection, the speaker draws a powerful parallel between contemporary political scandals — specifically referencing the Epstein files and the war on Iran as a potential distraction — and historical patterns of elite corruption described in the Quran. He focuses on the ayah from Surah Al-Isra [Al-Isra 17:16]: 'And when We wish to destroy a town, We command its elite, and they commit wickedness therein, so the word is justified against it, and We destroy it with complete destruction.' The speaker presents three scholarly interpretations of this verse: (1) Allah commanded the elite with righteousness and they disobeyed; (2) Allah allowed their evil to consume them as a precursor to destruction; and (3) Allah gave them wealth, power, and means, which they used to indulge their lowest desires until destruction came. He connects this Quranic principle to historical examples, including how Allah exposed Al-Walid ibn Mughirah's illegitimate birth when he tried to humiliate Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), how Prophet Yahya (ﷺ) was martyred for refusing to legitimize the corrupt desires of Herod Antipas, and how Fir'awn's regime was built on exploitation and moral depravity. The speaker emphasizes that the pattern of corrupt elites using distraction, deflection, and war to cover their scandals is timeless. He concludes with hope, noting that in the Quran, the exposure and destruction of corrupt elites are divinely linked — when they feel most invincible and most exposed, that is precisely when Allah's punishment arrives. He calls on believers to recognize these signs and to make du'a for the oppressed.

## Transcript
**[0:00]** Who was the first messenger of Allah, the first Rasul? Nuh (عليه السلام). I want you to imagine if you lived at the time of Nuh (عليه السلام). Let's say 30 miles away from Nuh (عليه السلام), hypothetically and

**[0:15]** then you had no idea what was going on with Nuh (عليه السلام) or around Nuh (عليه السلام). You came into the city and you saw a bunch of people surrounding this man, Nuh (عليه السلام), and he's trying to talk to them and

**[0:32]** they're spitting at him and kicking him, tearing at their clothes, pushing him and treating him in the worst of ways. And one of those people perhaps that's treating Nuh (عليه السلام) that way, who you don't yet know,

**[0:47]** you don't know who Nuh (عليه السلام) is. One of those people that's treating Nuh (عليه السلام) happens to be a relative or someone that's a friend or someone that's familiar to you. So you go to that person that's beating up on Nuh (عليه السلام) and treating him that way and you say, hey what's the deal with this man? Why are you doing that to him?

**[1:05]** What is the excuse that that man is going to give you for how he treated Nuh (عليه السلام)? Can anyone tell me? What is the excuse? What's he gonna tell you about Nuh (عليه السلام)? Can anyone tell me? He's crazy, maybe.

**[1:22]** But what's Nuh's agenda? He's got to tell you Nuh (عليه السلام) has an agenda. I'll give you a clue. It was recited in the second rak'ah. He wants? Good.

**[1:37]** "Maa hadha illa basharun mithlukum yureedu an yatafaddala 'alaykum" See this man right here. He wants to dominate you. He wants power over you. He's trying to take over. He is here because he has an agenda of domination.

**[1:58]** Oh, well, we need to stop that right? How do we stop it? Ban Shari'ah. Ban Nuh. Right? What's going to happen to you is well the guy that's telling me this is my cousin. He's my friend and I live on the outskirts and I know him to be a decent human being so clearly if he's opposing him

**[2:17]** and he's saying yureedu an yatafaddala 'alaykum that this man has this new religion that he's bringing but his real agenda is power over you then I'm going to start to get afraid too. Oh, he's trying to take over here and then once he finishes taking over here, he's gonna come out to us as well.

**[2:34]** All right now forget about 30 minutes away or 30 miles away from Nuh (عليه السلام), how about 30 miles away from Valley Ranch and Irving. You know subhanAllah when I went to visit sister Liqaa Qurdiya May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala free her today marks one year.

**[2:50]** One year of her being in that human trafficking detention center in Prairieland. May Allah free her. Allahumma Ameen. I went to visit her many times before I left in November and then I went to visit her again last week and I saw a sign right outside the facility that I'd never seen before a billboard.

**[3:09]** The billboard, guess what the billboard was in the middle of nowhere in Prairieland how ironic outside of a human trafficking center being the ICE detention center there. The one billboard that they managed to put up there defend the Constitution ban Shari'ah law. I took a picture of it.

**[3:29]** I'm like subhanAllah. Can you imagine someone that lives in Prairieland? In the middle of nowhere and someone's running for Congress in his area and saying ban Shari'ah law. We have to protect. We have to protect our society because the Muslims are here and the Muslims are taking over.

**[3:45]** You read when you have to follow an icon. All right, go back to Musa (عليه السلام). What is Firaun say about Musa and Harun? What are why are they doing this? Ya kunu lahumul kibriya. They're doing this because they want power. This is why Musa and Harun are doing this. All right, imagine if you live in Ta'if and the Prophet

**[4:02]** Muhammad (ﷺ) comes out Muhammad (ﷺ) and you walk and you come for the Hajj or the pilgrimage and you come to Mecca and you see them beating up on Muhammad (ﷺ). Wait, I thought he was a Sadiq al-Amin. I thought you liked him. He's a trustworthy person. He was our doctor. He was our you know, they're good people. He's a good man (ﷺ). Why are you doing this to him?

**[4:21]** Oh, he's didn't you hear he's trying to divide children against their parents and take over. It is the propaganda that was used against every single Prophet. And it's not just the propaganda that was used against Prophets.

**[4:39]** It's the propaganda that's used against the followers of the Prophets as well. It's the oldest trick in the book. You see Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about projection. First and foremost the way these people portray themselves falsely. You tell them don't wreak corruption and havoc on earth. They say we are the peacemakers.

**[5:02]** How is it that after committing a genocide that's still ongoing, Benjamin Netanyahu can still stare in a camera and say that unlike the children of darkness, we the children of light, we don't target civilians. You just massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians on our screen.

**[5:20]** That the president of Israel that Herzl can go around and you literally use the words. We are the peacemakers. A few months ago. I forgot what the form was. We are the peacemakers. How is it that till now the American war machine, the president, the secretary of war and others

**[5:37]** can stand on TV after having destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq and so many other places and claim that this is a noble mission. That we're fighting religious fanatics all while you have a pastor who I believe is in Texas

**[5:52]** going and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike. What religious fanatics are you talking about? And talk about people who want domination and corruption. Do you not see yourselves in the mirror? How is it that they can project? So the first one is the false projection of self.

**[6:09]** We're the peacemakers. The second one is what now shows up in Surah Al-Mu'minun. That they want power. They want to dominate us. They want to overcome us. This is the propaganda. If we don't fight them, they will take over.

**[6:26]** It's the earliest and easiest trick in the book to sell fear. Now here's the tragic part about it. Do you think that some of those people that drowned in the time of Nuh (عليه السلام), some of them actually thought they were fighting someone who was power hungry

**[6:43]** and opposing someone because he was power hungry? Do you not think that some of the foot soldiers that were used against the Prophet (ﷺ), didn't genuinely think that they were fighting a man (ﷺ)

**[6:58]** who was trying to overcome Mecca and tear apart society? People fall for propaganda. That's what makes it so potent. And in reality, every accusation is a confession. The people that wanted to hold on to power and that would dominate at any cost and were seeking resources projected their own evil intentions upon those that they were fighting.

**[7:19]** Upon those that they were opposing. And so what do we do with this and how do we actually take a step back and what is something valuable that we can take from this? The Quran is telling us that every single one of these propaganda artists use the same tools.

**[7:36]** They sold them three things and I want you to pay attention. The first one, they sold them false ideals. We're fighting for your freedom. There are people that went to Afghanistan and Iraq that were just filthy racists.

**[7:52]** There are filthy racists that are there in Iran right now. There are filthy racists that went in these missions and tore up parts of the Muslim world and took pleasure in the pain of our brothers and sisters. There's no doubt. We saw the videos. Let me ask you a genuine question.

**[8:08]** Don't you think that some people actually went to Afghanistan and Iraq thinking they were defending our freedom? They were fighting for our freedom? I've met people like that. Some of them are Muslims today, former US soldiers and Marines. I went there thinking I was fighting for freedom,

**[8:25]** not realizing I was actually part of an enslavement mission, part of a subjugation mission. Now I know the truth. So there are some people, that's a mindset, that think they're fighting for an ideal, for a value, false ideals. What were they selling them in Mecca?

**[8:41]** What were they selling in the time of Nuh? What are the ideals that they were trying to hold up? What did they tell 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) about the Prophet that initially made him oppose the Prophet? He's trying to tear apart our families. No, no one's going to tear apart our families. I don't want to see our society torn up.

**[8:57]** I don't want to see our families torn up. What differentiated 'Umar from 'Amr ibn Hisham, Abu Jahl, the Prophet said, "Allahumma a'izz al-Islam bi-ahabbi al-'umarayn ilayk." Oh Allah, give victory to Islam with one of the two. Abu Jahl knew he was evil. He knew what his agenda was.

**[9:13]** He knew the Prophet was on the truth and he knew why he was opposing the truth with his position of falsehood. 'Umar (رضي الله عنه), genuinely thought the Prophet (ﷺ) was an evil force. And then when he finally sat down to examine, look what happened. Look what happened to him. He changed.

**[9:28]** And he changed dramatically and drastically, walhamdulillahi rabbil 'alameen. So that's one group of people that fight for a false ideal. The second lie that is sold is the lie of stability. That you're fighting for stability. Now that stability does not have to be an ideal stability.

**[9:46]** It can be that if you think we're bad, imagine how much worse it can get. I was watching this racist, I forget even where the states are or who this person was, but some of you might have seen the AI ad, someone running for Congress and he put an AI ad together

**[10:01]** where like ISIS is taking over the streets and the Muslims are taking over the streets with black turbans and showing up in people's kitchen and stuff like that. And as disgustingly racist as it was, you know what the first thing that came to my mind is? It's like you do realize that it probably will not be

**[10:17]** someone showing up with a black turban and a gun and a sword, but do you not see the mass shootings in society? Are you not following the rates of violence in this country? You are very likely to be shot in the street in the middle of the night if you're walking in certain places because of the moral decay of society.

**[10:34]** But sell the version of stability that says, if you think we're bad, imagine how much worse it can get. If we don't fight them, this is what's going to happen. We have to subjugate the world, we have to pillage the Muslim world and we have to subjugate the Muslims here

**[10:49]** so that our streets don't look like over there. Stability. The third one which is very interesting and I'll end with this, is selling false aspiration. This is something, subhanAllah, psychologically that's very interesting.

**[11:04]** You know Malcolm X, rahimahullah, talked about this. The loyal slave who says to his master, are we sick? Are we okay? Who buys into it? And if you look in the Quranic framework, there is something very interesting. When Firaun subjugates his people

**[11:21]** and they actually start to think that, "Nahnu al-ghalibun" that you will be from "al-muqarrabun." I'll bring you close, that we won. You will be from those brought close to me. That if you are good enough, if you are good enough to the corrupt elite structure,

**[11:39]** you can aspire to eventually become an insider. We'll let you in. We'll let you in. If you are loyal enough to the system, if you are loyal enough to the dictator, if you are loyal enough to the corrupt, we'll let you in eventually. Eventually you can make it into the system.

**[11:55]** And so the aspirational alignment is that that foot soldier in the life of Firaun, that foot soldier in the United States who thinks that he's fighting for freedom and who's enslaved to a house loan and to a debt and can't afford children's education

**[12:10]** and goes and fights overseas and is committed to defending America or thinks I'm defending America, that some people think if I'm good enough to this, maybe one day I can make it to the upper echelons. I can be let in to the upper class.

**[12:25]** And by the way, this is true across all systems. In a dictatorship, I can get close enough to the dictator if I prove my loyalty enough. We know in the Muslim countries, some of the Muslim countries where somehow one-fourth of the country would be like working for the intelligence

**[12:41]** and somehow if I'm good enough and I keep on selling out my people, eventually I'll go up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up. I'll be let in. I'll get closer. I'm gaining trust. I'm getting closer. And yes, even in a so-called democracy, if you're good enough,

**[12:56]** eventually you'll be let in. You can be the beneficiaries of corruption and oppression. Evil is opposed. Evil is opposed. You don't assimilate into evil. You oppose evil. And so what do I leave you with, dear brothers and sisters?

**[13:12]** What's the message that we take from all of this? يريد أن يتفضل عليكم That they're coming to take over. They're coming to take over. We have to, at this critical juncture, be able to say to our neighbors, be able to say to concerned American citizens

**[13:27]** that are realizing that they've been sold a lie, you've been lied to, not just about us. You've been lied to about yourself as well. You've been lied to. You've been lied to. That's the message. Once you're able to get past that, like you've been lied to, you're being sold a lie

**[13:43]** in order to keep you subjugated and scared and subservient, then you can start to unlock the potential of that person to think a little bit deeper and more critically, not just about a specific conflict, but about everything that surrounds it, about our religion, about who we are,

**[13:59]** and about what this country has become and what it is embarking upon in terms of its imperialist pursuits. May Allah protect our brothers and sisters that are victimized by evil. May Allah protect us from becoming a part of that evil. And may Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[14:15]** allow us to be a people who model that which our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) modeled for us, and that show people the beauty of the virtues and values of what we have been taught when the ugliness of the opposite of it is becoming more and more obvious.

**[14:31]** Allahumma Ameen. Jazakum Allah khair. Wa assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

## Other Episodes in "Pause and Reflect"
- [Singling Out the 27th Night for Worship? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #12](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-12-singling-out-the-27th-night-for-worship.md)
- [Pay Attention to the Masjid Al-Aqsa Shutdown | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #11](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-11-pay-attention-to-masjid-al-aqsa-shutdown.md)
- [How Can You Despair of the Lord of Laylatul Qadr? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #10](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-10-how-can-you-despair-of-the-lord-of-laylatul-qadr.md)
- [What If Laylatul Qadr Is The Wrong Night? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #9](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-9-what-if-laylatul-qadr-is-the-wrong-night.md)
- [Why The Epstein Empire Attacked Iran | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #7](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/why-the-epstein-empire-attacked-iran-ramadan-pause-and-reflect-7.md)
- [How Am I Supposed To Feel About Israel vs. Iran? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #6](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/how-am-i-supposed-to-feel-about-israel-vs-iran-pause-and-reflect-6.md)
- [The Only Surah Without Bismillah | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #5](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/the-only-surah-without-bismillah-ramadan-pause-and-reflect-5.md)
- [One Small Sin That Tips the Scale | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #4](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-4-one-small-sin-that-tips-the-scale.md)
- [He Wrote on Himself Mercy | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #3](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-3-he-wrote-on-himself-mercy.md)
- [The Scholars Who Can’t Read | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #2](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-2-the-scholars-who-cant-read.md)
- [The Baqarah Challenge | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #1](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-1-the-baqarah-challenge.md)